Lifecycle

It all starts with an idea — a solution to a problem, a creative concept, a revolutionary approach to something seemingly mundane. But then what? How does one turn a great idea into a burgeoning tech company?

Whether it starts as a research project in the post-secondary arena or as a response in the field to an issue facing industry, the entrepreneurial spirit of an innovator takes over in driving the development and commercialization of technology products and services.

Establishing a company — a foundation from which innovation can flourish — is a daunting task for many. As such, the journey of a technology entrepreneur is both exciting and tenuous.

According to Calgary Economic Development, “Calgary is home to the largest number of technology startups per capita in Canada” with a strong foundation of mentors, programs and organizations to support innovators in establishing and growing viable technology companies.

TACTALIS

Ever since he can remember, Douglas Hagedorn has enjoyed building things.

His family always had a small business on the go, and he’d be a frequent entrant at junior entrepreneur competitions.

Even while he was taking his master’s in geography at the University of Calgary, Hagedorn was dreaming of starting his own business.

Today, the 28-year-old is CEO and founder of Tactalis (formerly Invinci), a Calgary-based tech firm that develops accessible computer interface hardware and software.

Hagedorn first got the idea behind Tactalis after looking at the way maps are designed for and then interpreted by visually impaired people.

“In university, I had looked at ways to create maps for people who could not see traditional maps,” he says. “Things such as a Windows screen are, in many ways, just extrapolated from the way you would look at them upon an X and Y axis, which is pretty much what a map is.

It is not too difficult to move from an arrangement which shows the capitals of Canada to one which shows my appointments for the week,” he says.

“So we take a traditional computer screen and below that screen we build our own proprietary display, which you can activate by touch,” adds Hagedorn.

Getting his company up and running has had its challenges. Not being able to hire people full time was the most difficult one to overcome.

“I started as a solo entrepreneur. The difficult thing in Calgary is finding people willing to give up an oil-and-gas-style wage or are able to contribute more than evenings and weekends.”

He credits his academic background in helping him overcome some of those hurdles, especially when it came to writing proposals for seed money grants.

“I have been fortunate in terms of the grants that are available for entrepreneurship. There is money available and a lot of it gets down to knowing how to write a grant application. I was lucky that I had some experience in that from academia,” he says.

Hagedorn’s advice for anyone hoping to start a technology company is simple: just do it.

“The biggest thing is to start doing it. You don’t know what you don’t know until you start asking permission and making mistakes,” he says. “There are a lot of people in Calgary who will help you overcome the pitfalls, and it is important to leverage that network of people.”

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